Different Voices

“Michael O’Leary is playing poker. He is terribly irritating and irritates the commissioners. We have never spoken of exact figures.”Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin, in Belgian daily Vers L’Avenir ahead of this week’s Ryanair (3 February) European Commission ruling against the Irish low-cost carrier.

“Are we the good guys? Absolutely. Are the Commission the bad guys? They are the evil empire.” Michael O’Leary on the EU executive after the ruling. The Ryanair boss also declined to speak French, saying he spoke only “a petit peu and that was the petit peu”.

“It is important to ensure that the decision taken does not lead to unforseen, unplanned and potentially unwelcome practical side effects in different regions across Europe.” Irishman Pat Cox, the European Parliament president, expressing his concern over the potential ripple effects of the Ryanair ruling.

“Air travel is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions…we cannot simply dispense state aid at regional airports to cope with demand – we must manage demand instead.” Green MEP Caroline Lucas welcoming the Ryanair ruling as a way of reining in the effects of air travel.

“I refuse to allow the FAZ [Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung] and Le Figaro to decide for me what nationality I am…I am not German, I am European.” Daniel Cohn-Bendit, the French-born Greens’ co-leader in the European Parliament, on his decision to stand in Germany – he has previously stood in both France and Germany – in the European elections.